IEEE WIE Affinity Group of Sri Lanka Annual General Meeting 2025
January 22, 2025 · 12:30 PM - 3:05 PM @ Bay 7, Colombo 10, TRACE Expert City
Description
Commencement of the Meeting The Annual General Meeting 2025 of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka commenced at 6.45 PM. Welcome Address by the Chair Ms. Gresha Samarakkody, Chair of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka, welcomed the gathering for the Annual General Meeting 2025 of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka. Keynote Speech by Ms. Sharlene Brown Ms. Sharlene Brown—IEEE Senior Member and Founder of the IEEE WIE Affinity Group of Jamaica—delivered the keynote speech on "IEEE Women in Engineering & Opportunities for Growth within IEEE". Address by the IEEE Sri Lanka Section Chair Mr. Shanmuganathan Vasanthapriyan, Chair of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section, congratulated the outgoing Executive Committee on the successful completion of their tenure, and assured them of the continued support of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section in advancing the objectives of IEEE Women in Engineering. Presentation of Minutes from the Annual General Meeting 2024 by the Secretary Ms. Michelle Perera, Secretary of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka, presented the minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2024 held on 30th January 2024. Ms. Warunika Hippola proposed that the minutes were in order, which was seconded by Ms. Shashika Lokuliyana. Annual Activity Report Presented by the Chair The Chair presented the annual activity report, highlighting the important activities conducted by the Affinity Group during 2024. She also thanked the volunteers of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka and its outgoing executive committee for the support they extended towards all activities of the Affinity Group in 2024. Annual Financial Report Presented by the Treasurer Ms. Charithri Yapa, Treasurer of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka presented the financial report for 2024. Matters Arising from the Minutes, Activity & Financial Reports No matters arose from the Meeting Minutes, Activity Report and Financial Report. Election of Office Bearers Dr. Rasara Samarasinghe, the Election Officer, announced the receipt of nominations for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer. An election was held for the positions of Vice Chair and Assistant Treasurer. Per the election results, Dr. Charithri Yapa and Ms. Menaka Moonamaldeniya were elected for the respective positions. The Election Officer called for nominations for the positions of Treasurer and Editor. Ms. Shashika Lokuliyana and Ms. Isuri Udara were elected for the respective positions. The following office bearers were elected for the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka 2025 Executive Committee. Chair: Dr. Prabhani Liyanage Immediate Past Chair: Ms. Gresha Samarakkody Vice Chair: Dr. Charithri Yapa Secretary: Ms. Hiruni Hettiarachchi Treasurer: Ms. Shashika Lokuliyana Assistant Secretary: Ms. Pipuni Wijesiri Assistant Treasurer: Ms. Menaka Moonamaldeniya Editor: Ms. Isuri Udara Ms. Thrividya Liyanarachchi, Dr. Nirthika Rajendran, Ms. Abarnah Kirupananda, Dr. Wageesha Manamperi and Ms. Warunika Hippola were proposed for the five Committee Member positions. Welcome Speech by the Elected Chair Dr. Prabhani Liyanage, the newly appointed Chair of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka, thanked the outgoing committee for their valuable contributions and welcomed the newly elected committee for the year 2025. Furthermore, she shared her vision and focus areas for the year. Further Discussions Prof. Shanmuganathan Vasanthapriyan encouraged the Executive Committee to apply for IEEE funding opportunities. He also suggested that WIESymp be organised by the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka in 2025. Mr. Dhammika Marasinghe suggested amending the constitution of the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of Sri Lanka and requested that the Affinity Group ensures that all main leadership positions in the Executive Committee are finalised before the AGM. He further suggested renaming certain initiatives of the Affinity Group to better reflect their purpose and emphasise their focus on women in STEM. Ms. Menaka Moonamaldeniya suggested that the Affinity Group host workshops on STEM outside Colombo. Ms. Gresha Samarakkody mentioned that the Affinity Group has begun this through its newly initiated project WiSTEM. Ms. Isuri Udara suggested that more events be organised by the Affinity Group for students following business disciplines. Ms. Piuni Wijesiri suggested that future Annual General Meetings of the Affinity Group be carried out in hybrid mode. Vote of Thanks by the Elected Secretary The newly appointed Secretary, Ms. Hiruni Hettiarachchi, delivered the vote of thanks, adjourning the proceedings of the AGM. The meeting was adjourned at 8.35 PM.
Agenda
6:00 - 6:45 PM : Refreshments and Fellowship 6:45 - 6.50 PM : Commencement of the Meeting 6:50 - 6.55 PM : Welcome Address by the Chair 6:55 - 7:15 PM : Keynote Speech by Ms. Sharlene Brown 7:15 - 7.25 PM : Address by the IEEE Sri Lanka Section Chair 7:25 - 7.30 PM : Handover of Proceedings to the Head Table 7:30 - 7.35 PM : Presentation of Minutes from the Annual General Meeting 2024 by the Secretary 7:35 - 7.50 PM : Annual Activity Report Presented by the Chair 7:50 - 7.55 PM : Annual Financial Report Presented by the Treasurer 7:55 - 8.00 PM : Matters Arising from the Minutes, Activity & Financial Reports 8:00 - 8.15 PM : Election of Office Bearers 8:15 - 8.25 PM : Address by the Newly Elected Chair 8:25 - 8.30 PM : Further Discussions 8:30 - 8.33 PM : Vote of Thanks by the Elected Secretary 8:33 - 8:35 PM : Adjournment of the Meeting